Baroque in the Rain

(The title and blurb have both been changed back to their original versions. The former title was The Sugar Baby Who Unilaterally Decided to Become a Powerful CEO's Lover. A bonus chapter is planned for the near future.) Powerful CEO Top x Beautiful Sugar Baby Bottom Qiao Jinyi is the son born to a wealthy Hong Kong tycoon's ex-wife after their divorce, and is related to the family by eighteen degrees of separation. As far back as he can remember, he and his mother were often harassed. Once, their home was even ransacked, while bald thugs loitered outside on the street. Mother and son were forced to move with nothing. He lost his usual desk for doing homework, his pajamas, and his favorite toys... Near the station they left from, his mother sold her gold bangle and bought two train tickets. At their unfamiliar destination, they ate two bowls of ramen. Qiao Jinyi gazed thoughtfully at his mother's bare wrist. A few years later, on an unremarkable afternoon, Qiao Jinyi came home from school and was suddenly taken away by his half-brother, a wealthy heir from his mother's side. His life was always full of unexpected turns. After a comfortable stretch of living at someone else's expense, he found that the life of drinking himself senseless at bars, racing cars and boats, and spending lavishly at auctions wasn't so easy when he had to depend on others. Then, after another careless mistake, his brother slapped him so hard that he injured his eardrum. Qiao Jinyi got antibiotics at the hospital by himself, then quietly left. He turned around and walked into the hillside mansion of another tycoon in Hong Kong, using his pretty face to secure a place for himself. * The first time Ou Muchong saw Qiao Jinyi was at an invitation-only resort. Ou Muchong quietly sat beside him as Qiao Jinyi bid by phone on an emerald necklace, so absorbed in the computer that he didn't notice anyone sitting nearby. They met again at Ou Muchong's hillside mansion. Qiao Jinyi showed up out of nowhere, asked him to settle his bar tab, and said he wanted to stay there. In just half a month, Qiao Jinyi had gone from bidding on expensive jewelry to showing up at his door to become a sugar baby. What a fall from grace. For reasons he couldn't explain, Ou Muchong found himself agreeing. Qiao Jinyi's favorite pastime was browsing auction catalogs, or afterward, taking a piece of jewelry from Ou Muchong's jewelry box and matter-of-factly declaring, "It's mine now." A money-loving sugar baby who didn't orbit Ou Muchong, spent every day wandering the hills and splashing around in the water, and wouldn't even go out of his way to curry favor with him. Ou Muchong had his reservations, but couldn't help being drawn to him. And even though Qiao Jinyi had acquired plenty of museum-worthy jewelry, he would still go buy a bangle from an inconspicuous gold shop. * A lot happened later. Qiao Jinyi left him with a single word, "We're through," then disappeared. Ou Muchong sat silently beside the bed Qiao Jinyi had slept in. If he'd known Qiao Jinyi would leave, he should have treated him better from the start, Ou Muchong couldn't help thinking. 0. Scheming, possessive romance 1. Many elements are author-created. This is a modern alternate universe, so don't read it as a reflection of real life. 2. Later on, the story features the pursuing-the-bottom-after-the-breakup trope, with the top suffering for it. 3. The bottom is a universally adored character who grows over the course of the story. 4. Written on a whim to indulge the author's tastes. The author is completely immersed in their own art. Feel free to check out the author's next planned fantasy danmei novel, The New Chief Is My Ex-Boyfriend [Sentinel-Guide]. Visit the author's page for more completed and upcoming stories! Blurb: Dark Sentinel Top x Aloof, Beautiful Bottom Ruan You was adopted by Central Tower because of his hyperthymesia. Growing up surrounded exclusively by stern adults left him with an isolated personality. When Central Tower realized how serious the problem was, they forged certification stating that he had manifested as a Guide and sent him to a Sentinel-Guide academy to interact with people his own age. But Ruan You still kept to himself. Despite his stunning looks giving him plenty of opportunities to fit in, he habitually rebuffed every friendly approach and flirtation, to an almost infuriating degree. Until one day, he suddenly manifested as a Sentinel and went berserk in the medical room, smashing through a wall. His vision blurred until he couldn't see a thing, and, instinctively seeking comfort, he burrowed into someone's arms. When he woke up, he learned that the person was the academy's top Sentinel, who had long ranked first in overall ability. Through a series of coincidences, they ended up in the same dorm room and, as if fate had destined it, began a relationship. Ruan You was happy, but also troubled. Central Tower had sent him to make friends, not to get a boyfriend! So when Central Tower transferred him to a mission elsewhere, the gorgeous man, completely unaware of what was going on, sent a breakup message and left without saying goodbye, vanishing without a trace. They met again at a meeting after the zombie outbreak. Lu Junyu, newly appointed as chief, took the seat across from him. As he greeted everyone in turn, he shook hands with Ruan You and no one else. * One day, Lu Junyu was injured during training and rested in the medical room. With his eyes closed, he couldn't help thinking about Ruan You, the gorgeous man he had a secret crush on. Half asleep and half awake, the man he dreamed about day and night burst through a wall. While Lu Junyu was still reeling from the shock, the gorgeous man teared up and burrowed into his arms without a word. What could he do? Of course he had to hold him first. After one hug, he couldn't let go. Lu Junyu's heart pounded, and his mind went blissfully blank. After some maneuvering, he finally got the gorgeous man to move into his dorm room. The beautiful man's aloof nature meant he trusted Lu Junyu alone, like a baby bird imprinting on its first caretaker. Lu Junyu seized his chance and pursued him fiercely. Once they got together, he thought he was the luckiest man in the world. Then the gorgeous man disappeared without warning. After such a sudden breakup, Lu Junyu felt like the unluckiest person in the world. They met again at a Central Tower meeting. Ruan You, the man he'd thought about day and night, sat quietly across from him, thin and pale, blood seeping through the sleeves of his white uniform, beautiful and fragile. Damn it, who had lured away his precious darling, whom he'd taken such good care of, only to neglect him! Notes: 0. Second chance romance 1. The bottom is a bit of a natural airhead (Ruan You: You know how it is. Geniuses can have pretty quirky thought processes.) 2. A post-apocalyptic zombie story Theme: Break free from constraints and discover your true self